Večeras sam potpuno umoran.

to be

Breakdown of Večeras sam potpuno umoran.

• večeras: tonight
• umoran: tired
• potpuno: fully

Questions & Answers about Večeras sam potpuno umoran.

Why is sam in the middle of the sentence and not at the beginning like am in English?

In Croatian, sam is the short form of biti (to be) for I (ja sam = I am).

This short form sam is a clitic, and clitics normally go in the second position in the clause, not at the very beginning. That’s why the sentence is:

• Večeras sam potpuno umoran.
  (literally: Tonight am completely tired.)

You cannot start the sentence with sam:

• ✗ Sam večeras potpuno umoran. – ungrammatical.

If you add the pronoun ja, it normally goes before sam:

• Ja sam večeras potpuno umoran. – I am completely tired tonight. (emphasis on I)

Why is there no word for I in the sentence? Where is the subject?